The Mental Benefits of Reading

Theodore “Ted” Catino is an entrepreneur and retirement coach who serves as a founding partner of 625 Investments and co-founder of GigSmart, a mobile application which helps employees and employers navigate the ever-evolving gig economy. In his free time, Ted Catino enjoys reading.

In addition to serving as a stress reliever, reading has plenty of health benefits, primarily relating to the brain. An Emory University study, for instance, found that reading supports heightened connectivity in the brain and leads to neurological changes that continue after a person stops reading. Persistent reading is known to improve memory and concentration, while slowing the overall process of mental decline. A study conducted at the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago found that elderly participants who rarely read experienced mental decline 48 percent faster than those who read often throughout their lives.

Furthermore, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley concluded that reading can help lower brain levels of amyloid, a protein involved in the development of Alzheimer’s. Other evidenced-based benefits of reading include the improvement of analytical skills as well as help with sleeping and depression.